Central Europe Suffers from High Energy Bills as Russia Diverts Oil to Asia

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Central Europe Suffers from High Energy Bills as Russia Diverts Oil to Asia

Central European countries face the prospect of refinery disruptions and higher energy bills as Russia diverts oil exports to Asia.

Russian flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which has historically accounted for the bulk of central Europe's oil, are running at only half of capacity after Moscow built new direct routes and ports to supply north European and Asian markets over the past decade.

Russian oil supplies via Druzhba to Europe dropped this year to multi-year lows of around 900,000 bpd after Moscow launched the Ust-Luga port in the Baltic and began ramping up exports to Asia.

"If I had a refinery on Druzhba, I would sell it now," Alexey Kornienkov, head of strategic planning and business development at Russian oil firm Gazprom Neft, said last month.